The Flowers
by xMeganful
Summary: On a visit to Lena's grave, Aiden finds the same flowers Clara kept leaving her. *Set after the game finishes* *Many spoilers*
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: Contains spoilers! **

**All rights go to Ubisoft who created Watch_Dogs.**

* * *

I see the hit men, the guns, her. She stands at Lena's grave, flowers in hand.

"Clara!"

She turns, looking around her, until the first bullet finds her shoulder. We both take cover and I load my gun. Her eyes find mine, which have always been alert and teasing, are filled with terror and sadness. She falls, another bullet finding her. I notice the crimson blood on her hand.I take out the hit men, who attempt to take cover behind gravestones. There are at least ten of them with the same job; to elimate Clara Lille.

Damien. What have you done?

I approach her still lifeless body. Crouching, I move her onto her back were I can see her face and her wounds. Guilt fills my body as I touch her cheek; one of the few times I've ever come in contact with Badboy17. The flowers from her hand lay on the grass beside her. They're the same flowers that have shown up at Lena's grave since her death. It must have been Clara all along. I take them and put them on top of the stone, knowing she wanted Lena to have them. Her phone lays beside her neck, and I take it, knowing the power it has. A voice recorded message is loaded and I click it on. It beeps.

"Hello, Aiden." it's Clara, who pauses, taking in a breath. "I can't decide where to begin. The first time I saw you, you were playing chess with Jackson in the park. Both of you still very sad from the...funeral. I could see how you made him feel safe. In our world we hide in the dark, behind monitors. That's the only place we feel safe. It isn't enough to say that I didn't know. That lives would be lost," she must mean Lena. "or that it was only a job. I thought if I could help you heal, help you find answers, maybe I could heal myself." another pause, "But I can't. When this is all over, I hope we can at least talk. Or if not...at least I can disappear. That's something I'm good at."

The message ends and I leave her body, Lena's grave, and I walk. I don't know where. Just anywhere but here.

* * *

**The Following Winter**

Snow falls to the ground around her gravestone. I approach the stone, my hands deep in my pockets.

"Hey Lena. I know it's been a while..." I breathe, remembering Clara's body beside Lena's gravestone. "It's been tough."

I shift my weight, almost uncomfortable at being here once again.

This is where Clara died. On Lena's grave. How fucking disturbing is that? That bastard, Damien. Tried blaming me for Clara, and Lena.

What even happened to Clara's body? The thought had occured to me a lot. I assumed someone had ran into her a few hours later, called the cops and tried to figure out who she was. Nobody knew Clara; she was untraceable, unpredictable, unreadable. She was the reason I got answers about Lena's death.

But also the cause of it.

She ordered the hit on me and Damien. Did she fire the gun? No, that was Maurice. She traced us, for Quinn.

Yet she's the closest I've ever had to friend.

My eyes suddenly catch a spot of purple in the pile of snow on top of Lena's gravestone. I walk closer, brushing aside the snow to find the same flowers that Clara used to leave her.

But they seem pretty recent to me.


	2. Chapter 2

I tell Lena goodbye, promising to return soon. I run back to the nearest road, hack a car's locks and climb inside. Tapping the smartphone's screen, I call T-Bone. The phone crackles into life as I press it to my hear.

He picks up immediately, "Aiden?" he sounds somewhat surprised by my sudden call. We haven't spoke, or even been to the bunker, since shortly after I killed Damien.

"I need your help." I say, getting to the point.

He responds, "What mojo shit you tryin' to drag me into this time?" with a hint of a laugh.

I drive as we speak, heading towards the bunker, a place that seems to belong more to Clara than me.

"Can you follow my signal?" I ask.

"With the amount of alcohole in my system? No way, man." Of course he's drunk.

"Fine." I sigh, using my phone to track his location. The screen lights up, revealing his location. I hang up, my mind racing.

* * *

My choice of cars is poor. It moves so slowly I wonder if it'll break down at any moment. I finally reach Pawnee, where I first found T-Bone and he threw me out the window. I roll down the window when I find T-Bone.

"Amigo," he sits beside the water, a bottle in his hand. "Haven't been caught yet?"

I purse my lips. I need Raymond Kenney right now.

"I need your help, T-Bone. Think you're sober enough?" The man stands up, leaving the bottle on the ground.

"Sure." Is all he says, climbing into the passenger side. I roll up the window again, heading towards the bunker once again.

After a while, he says, "Care to explain what crazy shit you're getting me into this time?"

"I need your help tracing someone. Thought the legendary could be of use." I explain, being careful with my words. I can smell the alcohol on his breath.

T-Bone replies, "So let me guess, a fellow hacker?"

"Yes, and no." I answer, driving up to the bridge to the bunker. Hacking the bridge with my smartphone, it moves so I can drive across it. Hopefully, the bunker is still abandoned.

"Well that sure clears things up." he replies sarcastically. "Come on, Aiden. Give me more than that. Who are they? Blume?" he pauses before adding, "Damien's ghost?"

"Very funny." I pull up to the bunker door and hack open the door. We enter the crate and it moves as I load my gun. "I'll explain inside."

To my surprise, he leaves it at that. When the door opens again, I check the cameras around the building. Everything seems clear.

"Power still up?" T-Bone walks down the steps, returning to his old position at the monitors. They're dead silent and everything is mostly dark. I check the power supply, pull the lever and the building bursts alive. Monitors light up and the lights turn on. "I missed this old beauty."

I approach T-Bone, anxiety filling me. Could Clara really be alive?

"I think Clara faked her death." I say finally. He gives me a look to imply I'm insane, and I couldn't blame him.

"Dude, you saw her die, right?" he frowns. "What messed up shit makes you think she's still alive?"

"I found flowers at my neice's grave. The same flowers that Clara used to leave her." I explain.

"Flowers?" T-Bone snaps. "That's what you dragged me here for?"

"She could be alive and if she is, she'd be well hidden." I try to reason with him, "She's smart. The best hacker I know."

"Knew." he snaps. "Aiden, she's gone."

Anger fizzles inside me, "Are you going to help me or not?"

T-Bone growls, "No way I'm tracking a dead girl." before leaving.

Now it's up to me.


	3. Chapter 3

I sit in one of the chairs in front of the monitors, where Clara always used to be. I run her name through a CTos search.

_Name: Clara Lille_

_Sex: Female_

_Nationality: French-Canadian_

_Age: 29_

_Suspected to be apart of DedSec. Location and status unknown._

She hasn't been identified as dead. That could be a lead, but anyone could have found her before the cops did.

"The cameras," I say aloud, hacking into CTos' security cameras around the graveyard. None of them point directly at Lena's grave, so I check the whole area on the date she possibly died. I find footage of a van pulling up twelve minutes later. A man and a women get out, heading towards Lena's grave. They're both in dark clothes and my profiler can't seem to identify them.

Not many people can't be identified. Three minutes later, the two walk back to the van. The man is carrying someone, and as I pan around the cameras, I see it's Clara. She's not moving; she's exactly how I left her. As the van drives away, I trace the number plate.

_HL6 937_

"Belongs to a Felicia Blake."

I run the name through the CTos search.

_Name: Felicia Rose Blake_

_Sex: Female_

_Nationality: American_

_Age: 34_

_Recently reported missing._

I check her criminal record, which says she's been arrested twice for attempting to hack into CTos, though she later was broken out of jail. Sounds like DedSec to me. But how did she know Clara would be there? When she was shot, could she have sent an emergency alert to Blake?

Pulling out her phone, I try to get past her password. I've tried hacking into it before, but she made it almost unhackable. Her password could be anything; it could be French for all I know. She'd often throw in French words. Words like _câlisse_. I never knew what they meant, and I never asked.

The bunker feels empty without her presence. I almost expect to turn around and see her there, teasing me about how _I need her help_.

"Right," I murmur, "Time to see where you're hiding, Blake."

I trace her phone back to an old abandoned builing. I didn't even know it existed; a perfect hideout.

"Must be where DedSec hides. Can't go in. Going to have to wait for Blake to come out."

* * *

**"Câlisse is a common swear in French Canadian". C****â**lisse translates to "fukk", according to the Urban Dictionary.

**Clara says it when she and Aiden first go into the bunker when they're trying to get the power back on. **


	4. Chapter 4

I couldn't walk into there; it'd be suicide.

DedSec claimed war against me. After I took care of Damien_...that message_. They were warning me. _Threatening_ me.

Yet they took Clara. And I'm about to find out why.

* * *

Patience has never been my strong point. I'm not the type to sit still and wait. Perhaps I can draw Blake out to me.

I leave the bunker and drive until I find an empty alleyway with a few CTos cameras and places to take cover, incase something were to go wrong. DedSec is almost unpredictable. They're dangerous. Powerful. I need to be careful.

I have my gun, my phone and a good enough plan.

I take out my phone and call Felicia Blake. Someone picks up the phone after a moment of silence.

"Who is this?" someone responds, using a voice modifier alike the one Clara used to use. DedSec is all about keeping everything about them private, including their identities. They don't want to be caught. Nobody does.

"Someone of interest." I reply.

"Pearce."

I smile, knowing by now they must be tracking my location. The modifier breaks for a moment and I hear a woman's voice. "Blake."

"We're at war, _vigilante_." she hisses, the modifier crackling over her voice.

"I'm aware. Know anyone by the name of Clara Lille?" I ask, dragging out the call.

"Nobody." she replies hesitantly.

"Surely even DedSec would identify someone before taking them." with my phone, I check the cameras around me. Nothing suspicious yet.

Blake laughs, "We're a group of hackers, not kidnappers. You're smart, Pearce. But apparently not smart enough."

"Not smart enough to figure out you're tracing me as we speak?"

"Why? Do we have a reason to want you?" she says and I purse my lips.

"I have Clara's, a.k.a Badboy17's, phone."

Take the bait.

The call suddenly goes quiet. A moment later, Blake finally mutters, "You get once chance to talk, Pearce. One chance." before the call dies.

Bait taken.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, a dark car pulls up beside the alleyway. I lean back against the wall, panning around the cameras to see a woman in dark clothes. Her hair is red and short, two peircings in each ear. Felicia Blake.

"Once chance, Pearce." she warns yet again, approaching me. Her hand reaches into her jacket and she shows the end of a gun. Another threat.

"Clara Lille. Where did you take her?" I approach her, backing her against a wall. She seems more alert, not at all intimidated or scared.

"How about you back up. Then maybe I'll tell you." she hisses, shoving me away. I take a few steps away, blocking the path to her car.

"Start talking." I say.

"Clara told me she was in some kind of trouble. Said something about you. About Damien Brenks. About a neice." she raises her eyebrows, as if expecting an explination from me.

I frown, "Keep talking."

"I traced her phone back to a graveyard. The signal then disappeared, so I wanted to know why. I convinced someone to come with me incase things got ugly." Blake explains, "When I got there, she had a few bullet wounds. Heck, I thought she was dead."

"What then?" I encourage. I _need _to hear it. I _need _to know she's still alive.

"I got her patched up. It was a close call, really." she sighs, almost as if they really are _friends_. I somehow doubt that. "One day, she ran off. I don't know where. Something about her phone not being there."

"Yeah, I took it." I say. "Where is she now?"

"Got herself arrested. She was careless, and now she's in some high security prison."

"I got to break her out." I mutter, turning away from the woman. Her hand touches my shoulder lightly.

"Pearce, we've already tried that. The cops _anticipated _us. People were caught. People were killed. It's too dangerous. She's in there for life." I hear her shoes against the pavement, walking towards her car. She pauses. "Don't tell anyone I was here. We're still at war, _vigilante_."


	5. Chapter 5

**I hadn't realized I had been writing CTos instead of ctOS. Sorry for that!**

* * *

I've broken into the prison before, but not alone. Jordi had helped me, snuck my phone in, and helped me locate my witness from the stadium.

How long ago was that?

Getting in would be easy. Getting us both out - assuming Blake isn't lying - won't be. First, I'm going to have to check Clara _is _in there.

I hack a car's locks and climb in. Driving back to the bunker, I can't help but wonder _if Clara really is alive_. Why wouldn't she call me?

_"When this is all over, I hope we can at least talk. Or if not...at least I can disappear. That's something I'm good at."_

I was so caught up with "Lucky" Quinn, making sure he paid for Lena, that I didn't have time to tell her.

"I understand, Clara." I murmur.

I was mad. Mad because the one person I had put my trust into, who I started to believe was my friend, who I had agreed to become a team with, had been involved in Lena's death all this time. Seeing that look on her face...

Her hands were bloody, and she knew it. Now I have finally see what she was doing.

She was punishing herself everyday, exactly like I had. A lot of people are to be blamed for Lena. Quinn played people. He wanted _me _dead.

Clara? She traced _me._ She didn't know who I was. Didn't know who Lena was. Maurice _saw _her. He knew she was there. Knew he could kill a little girl. But he did it anyway. And me? I've made every single person involved pay for what they've done to her. Clara's been living the same nightmare I have. When Quinn died, I finally felt like I could breathe again. Like I was waking up.

I needed Clara's help before and now she needs mine.

* * *

At the bunker, I search through a list of prisoners in Chicago.

"But no Clara..." I frown, looking through surnames beginning with L. She could've used a fake name. "Blake could have changed it for her."

My phone suddenly begins to buzz. I pull it from my pocket and realize it's Felicia Blake's number.

"How did you trace my number?" I ask, my eyes still searching the list of names for anything that seemed fake or suspicious.

"I'm DedSec. What do you expect?" a voice modifier is activated, but I know it's Blake. "Anyway, that's not why I called. I wanted to help you bust Clara out."

"I don't need your help." I reply. I know what DedSec is like; they're not ones you can trust easily. "I thought we were at war."

"I hacked the system and changed her name. You won't be able to identify her without my help." she says.

"I don't need a name." I leave the bunker as we talk and get into a car I left outside.

Blake stays silent for a moment. "Look, Pearce, I want Clara out as badly as you do. If you break in there, I can hack in and help you both get out. I don't know why you want her out, but I know people inside. You'd be surprised at how quickly blackmail can turn people against each other."

"I don't think I would." I respond, hacking the bridge to the island and driving over it, past the homeless camp and Tobias' shop.

"I don't want you screwing up and getting her hurt." she hisses.

I frown, "I won't. I've done it before."

"You have?"

"Yeah. Look, if you want to help me, then you can make sure I get my phone inside there." I say finally.

"Okay. Done." she replies, "When are you going in?"

A smile creeps across my face, despite the danger of sneaking back into that prison. _I haven't seen her in so long._

"Right now."


	6. Chapter 6

When I reach the building, I call Felicia to tell her I'm about to get myself arrested. She promises to make sure I get my phone inside.

Walking into the building, I get out my gun and step forward. An alarm is tripped and three guards force it out of my hand and push me against a wall. They scan me for any other weapons, just like last time, and take away my phone. I'm given the usual orange clothes, but no phone. My police record from before still remains.

"Stick to the plan, Blake..." I mutter as guards push me into a cell. Without my phone, Felicia is making this plan a hell of a lot harder. Suddenly I hear a small familiar buzz in the corner of the room, under a bench. Underneath it is my phone.

I call Felicia and quietly say, "I got my phone. Where's Clara?"

After a moment, she responds. "Good. Okay, you should be on the same floor."

I hang up and hack into the cameras. Checking each camera in each cell, I finally locate Clara. She's in the seventh cell to my right, sitting on the floor facing away from the camera. I barely recognise the flirty tattooed woman I hired so many months ago.

"Found you." I smile slightly, remembering we still have to escape without too much noise. Hacking into a control box across the room, I unlock my cell door and sneak past two guards until I reach Clara's cell. I hack open the door and she looks up, her eyes meeting mine.

"Aiden?" her peircings are gone and her hair is slightly longer on each sides. She seems lost between feeling relieved and ashamed. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out." I lighten my tone and she smiles, moving towards me to crouch behind crates. "Follow me," I say, moving down the coridor and past a guard. When we reach a door that leads to an empty coridor, I call Felicia.

"You find her?" she asks immediately.

"Yeah. I got her." I reply, which seems to confuse Clara.

"Who is that?" she asks.

"Clara, you there?" Felicia replies. Her eyes light up.

"Felicia Blake?"

"Yeah. Who'd think the _vigilante_ would team up with me?" she laughs, the voice modifier off. Perhaps the two really are friends.

"Team up?" Clara gives me one of her devious smiles.

I say, "Where's the nearest exit?"

"Uhh...looks like you take two lefts and up some stairs. You're stuff should be on the first right." Felicia responds and I cut the call off.

"We need to keep moving." I remind her, walking through the empty coridor. We turn right and find two guards. I hack a small alarm to distract the first one guard to take out the other. Taking out the other guard, Clara starts to search a small room for our clothes and weapons.

"Here" She passes me a bag filled with my confiscated items. Among my stuff is Clara's phone.

"Might be needing this." I say, passing her her phone. She smiles.

"You took it?"

"Yeah. It's unhackable. I checked." I joke. Clara raises her eyebrows but says nothing.

We walk down the two coridors, both of us carrying a small bag and me with my gun. I take out three more guards in the coridors, who seem to be useless at their job. I notice Clara begins to struggle to carry the bag as we reach the stairs.

"Everything alright?" I ask, remembering her bullet wounds that must still be recovering.

"Yes. I'm fine." she replies, even though I know the wounds must be causing her pain.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine, Aiden." She interrupts me, being more assertive. Maybe we are further apart now than we have ever been. Is she still living the same nightmare I was?

I sigh. "Okay. Keep moving."


	7. Chapter 7

**SPOILER WARNING! All rights go to Ubisoft.**

**This is just a short chapter since I really loved this phone call between Clara and Aiden. I also wanted to enclude a small bit using Clara's perspective. The phone call just really got to me. It's difficult for Clara and you can really hear it when she says "I'm sorry, Aiden" and it just broke my heart. She just wanted to explain herself before handing herself over to Damien. So sweet. I really do love her character and Ubisoft did an awesome job.**

**The phone call is just before you go into Lucky Quinn's hotel The Merlaut and kill him.**

* * *

_Explain, hang up I remind myself. How hard can this be?_

_Tapping my phone, I call Aiden._

_I hope he isn't too mad._

_"It's me." I say, but I know my picture will come up on his phone._

_"Where are you? We should meet." Aiden replies, noises from the city in the background._

_I don't want to meet. I can't meet._

_"I've always made my money finding information for people. The harder it was to find, the more money I made." I explain._

_"You didn't know what they'd do."_

_He must pity me. The girl who didn't know what she was doing; that's who I am. The girl who killed his Lena._

_"I'm going to fix things." I promise._

_He replies, "There's nothing to fix."_

_"I'm sorry, Aiden." I can hear it in my voice. Hear a plea for the forgiveness he will never give me._

_"Clara, what's going on? What are you going to do?"_

_I'm going to fix things, I reply silently, I promise._

_Tapping my phone, I hang up._

* * *

Does Aiden forgive me...

...do I forgive myself?


End file.
